Hospital confident, commissioners resistant to new name

Plans are proceeding to unveil a new name for Gaston Memorial Hospital, despite some who are lobbying against the change.

Opponents have said it would be a slight to veterans, since the hospital was founded with a name in 1946 to honor the county’s war dead.

CaroMont based its decision on community input, said spokeswoman Penny Cowden. She emphasized this week the new designation is imminent.

“(The name) will be changed unless there’s a cataclysmic shift in something,” she said. “We’ve done a lot of work on it. We’ve spent a lot of time doing the research, making sure we’d made the right decision.”

CaroMont Health postponed a press conference it had scheduled Wednesday to announce the new name, selected after months of research on rebranding. Hospital leaders said the change will allow CaroMont to retain its independence as a health care agency, while strengthening its commitment to the community.

CaroMont blamed the postponed announcement on a scheduling conflict. It came two days after Gaston County commissioners publicly objected to the decision. Several of them learned Friday the name could and would be changed without a vote of the CaroMont Health board of trustees, whom they appoint.

Hospital leaders will likely compromise in the coming week by allowing commissioners a sneak peek at what’s coming down the pike. But Cowden said CaroMont’s plans won’t be affected.

Closed session discussion

CEO Randall Kelley and other executive leaders have been proceeding toward the name change with the understanding that formal approval from the board of trustees wasn’t necessary, Cowden said.

“I’ve actually never had a board (of trustees) vote on something like this, so it’s surprising to me that there’s been this reaction,” Cowden said.

The county owns the Gaston Memorial Hospital building and land, and leases it for $1 a year to CaroMont, which operates as a public nonprofit.

County commissioners appoint 13 of the 14 members of the CaroMont Health board of trustees. Commissioner Jason Williams serves on that board, as does Donnie Loftis, a former county commissioner.

The board of trustees met Monday and went into closed session to discuss the hospital name change. Board Chairman Spurgeon Mackie cited a state law that allows the public board to do so for discussion of competitive health-care activities, confidential health contracts and other reasons.

County Commissioner Joe Carpenter attended the open portion of the meeting. He asked Kelley, the trustees and others in the room to keep the Gaston Memorial name in place.

“I’ve had a number of veterans to call me, and they’re very upset it might lose that name,” said Carpenter. “I’d consider it an embarrassment if that were completely removed.”

Carpenter referred to it as a sensitive issue in the community.

“You’re really trustees for the citizens of Gaston County,” he told the board. “There needs to be some recognition of that.”

Staying competitive

CaroMont Health employs more than 4,000 people in Gaston County. As an independent health-care agency, it is fighting to retain its local foothold and find ways to grow.

That has become more challenging with increasing competition from rivals such as Carolinas Health Care and Novant Health, which operate hospitals in surrounding areas including Charlotte, Kings Mountain, Shelby and Lincolnton.

“In our research, we actually did get the opinions of the community,” she said. “We did extensive and very intense focus groups with representatives of this community. We did it the same way they conduct national polls.”

The name change is one small piece of an entirely new marketing plan, Cowden said.

Several elected leaders, including Commissioners Tom Keigher and Tracy Philbeck, have questioned whether a small focus group can fairly represent the wishes of a county with more than 200,000 residents.

“The problem is that honoring their veterans is no longer chic or hip for them,” Philbeck said Tuesday. “It no longer resonates with them. I have a major issue with that. I think it’s arrogant.”

Williams, the commission’s liaison to the board of trustees, said he doesn’t expect Gaston Memorial to remain the hospital’s name much longer.

“I think this is something they’ve worked on for a long time and they feel confident this is the right marketing approach,” he said.

You can reach Michael Barrett at 704-869-1826 or twitter.com/GazetteMike.